FiveKennys

Monday, October 16, 2017

Moncton, New Brunswick

Great to see Bronwyn and Caleb Bustin, and Jane Weiler

at Hillside Baptist, Moncton, New Brunswick.

It was a big weekend in Moncton as we shared with our friends at the Gunningsville and Hillside Baptist Churches during five different weekend events. It was also a gift to be near family and friends living in the Moncton area.

Thanks to the gift of Facetime, we have been keeping in touch with both Tristan and Emma. They are doing well during this season of school mid-terms.

Erica with the Taylors at Hillside

Pastor Jerry Reddy, lead pastor at Hillside

The over-40s take on the under-40s in a Tug of War

On Friday night, Aaron spoke at the Band of Brothers men's ministry of Hillside Baptist Church. It was a fun evening as 120 men from the church and community shared supper and fellowship together. Aaron challenged the group to be a voice for the voiceless and to stand in solidarity with the marginalized in their community and around the world.

Malcolm Card sharing about the power of having a community of hope,

during the Friday night Band of Brothers, men's group.

Erica with Patty Card, who organized the Saturday night "Girl's Night Out" where Erica shared about the incredible impact of the self-help group program in Kenya.

So great to see our friend Rachel O'Brien

Our niece Emry packed her bag, grabbed her snake, and was ready to leave

with us for the next leg of home assignment

We are now in Saint John, New Brunswick, and will be speaking at Lancaster and RiverCross Baptist Churches on Tuesday, October 17, before we travel to Nova Scotia.

Thank you so much for keeping us and the ministries of CBM in prayer.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Have you visited the 323 Collective, yet?

Receiving a purchase from the 323 Collective looks like this...

... And like this.

Because when you purchase an item from the 323 Collective,

the proceeds go to support people in need around the world.

The 323 Collective online store features craft makers and entrepreneurs willing to contribute their handiwork in service of those who need a hand-up.

Click Here to visit the 323 Collective

Erica and Ava wearing some of the beautiful treasures from the Collective

The New Hopeful Gifts of Change

Christmas Catalogue is here!

Take a look and find some incredible gifts that you can give this Christmas that will bring transformation in the lives of people who need some hope this year! You can visit the online version at hopefulgifts.ca

October 2017

A wonderful Thanksgiving Sunday with our family on

Prince Edward Island

This past weekend, we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with our family in Brackley, PEI. It was a beautiful few days of enjoying the gorgeous Fall colours of the season. We also appreciated the warm welcome we received at First Baptist Church, Charlottetown, where we shared during the two Sunday morning services.

We were thrilled to hear that our friends Kim and Bryan Burr prepared a "Canadian Thanksgiving" for our daughter, Emma, who has been studying in Nairobi this Fall. We are so grateful for such amazing friends and for the great semester that Emma has been having at Rosslyn Academy.

After being away in Ontario for almost a month, it was also great to reconnect with Tristan who travelled by bus from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to join us for the long holiday weekend.

Aaron and TK on PEI

Erica and TK picking out fall gords for his dorm room

Maria, Tristan, and Gabby

Tristan did not come alone. We were thrilled to have two other Rosslyn Academy grads join us for their first Canadian Thanksgiving. Maria and Gabby are both doing very well at Acadia. It was fun to show them around some of our favourite parts of the Island.

Cecile and Ava

Ava had a blast hanging out with all of her cousins. We have lots of October birthdays in our family, and so we had a party for Penelope, Ava, and Montgomery.

Grammie and Tristan throwing in this winter's firewood

Another Autumn tradition in the Kenny household is "putting in the wood." We were glad to be home to help Grampy and Grammie to pack their winter firewood into the basement.

Twenty-five around our Big Thanksgiving Table

at Grampy and Grammie Kenny's house

Walking this afternoon with Cooper

We are back in New Brunswick this week with family and friends in Riverview, Moncton, and Sussex. We will be speaking at gatherings at Hillside Baptist, Gunningsville Baptist, Lancaster Baptist, and RiverCross Church over the next few days. You can see our October schedule Here.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Forward Thinking

Canadian Baptist Ministries Team Leader's Retreat

Lake Joseph, Ontario

We are back in Mississauga after a wonderful time of retreat with CBM's team leaders in the beautiful Lake region of the Muskokas. Together with our director, John Chan, we share the leadership of the international work of Canadian Baptists in each of our continental fields. It was an important time of reflecting on the challenges and opportunities facing our international and local partners.

Aaron, John, Ava, Erica, Ruth, Suraj, Grace,

Kathleen, Sharlene, Bruno, and Terry

Since last Sunday evening, we have been engaged in discussions about the current work of Canadian Baptists and the broader strategy that we are all apart of. Along with reflecting on the work of CBM, we appreciated times of team building and mutual support.

Our week together came to an end today as we participated in a gathering of CBM directors and managers to discuss emerging opportunities and priorities throughout the organization.

It has been an exciting time of forward thinking. Please keep CBM and our board of directors in your prayers as we seek to strengthen the ministries that we share in around the world.

Our friend and colleague, Suraj Komaravalli,

sharing about his work as CBM's team leader for India

The 323 Collective

One emerging focus for CBM has been the importance of marketplace ministry. This area of focus is summarized under the banner of Co//323, CBM's belief that transformation can take place where faith and work intersect. The name comes from Colossians 3:23 which instructs us that "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."

Marketplace ministry takes all sorts of shapes and forms within our international work from self-help groups beginning enterprises in Kenya to vulnerable families gaining livelihoods in Rwanda and farmers increasing their household income through improved farming practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But there are many other important dimensions to the ministry of Co//323 that we will be sharing over the coming year.

October introduced the launch of a new initiative of the Co//323, namely: the 323 Collective. More than just an online store, the 323 Collective is part of a larger Global initiative to help people to support the efforts of groups that are working together to improve the lives of their families and community. You can visit the 323 Collective by Clicking Here.

This is what arrives in your mailbox if you order one of the unique handmade

Iftin scarves from www.323collective.org

Our little model

Ava modeling the Kamp Tumaini headgear.

You can see more in the 323 Collective Store.

A fun evening in the dark with Heather and Terry Smith

As our time in Ontario draws to an end, we are so thankful for all the great friends and groups that we have had the chance to connect with. Here are a few snapshots from this past week.